The Berlin Wall being erected in August 1961
An iconic symbol of the Cold War between the Communist and Free Worlds, the Berlin Wall divided East and West Berlin for 28 years, from the day construction began on 13th August 1961 until it was dismantled in 1989.
When the East German government announced on 9th November 1989, after several weeks of civil unrest, that entering West Berlin would be permitted, crowds of East Germans climbed onto and crossed the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, parts of the wall were chipped away by a euphoric public and by souvenir hunters; industrial equipment was later used to remove the rest of it. The fall of the Berlin wall paved the way for German reunification, which was formally concluded on 3rd October 1990.
After the end of World War II in Europe, what territorially remained of Nazi Germany was divided into four occupation zones (per the Potsdam Agreement), each one controlled by one of the four occupying Allied powers: the Americans, British, French and Soviets. The old capital of Berlin, as the seat of the Allied Control Council, was itself similarly subdivided into four zones despite the city itself lying deep inside the zone of the Soviet Union. Although the intent was for the occupying powers to govern Germany together inside the 1947 borders, the advent of Cold War tension caused the French, British and American zones to be formed into the Federal Republic of Germany (and West Berlin) in 1949, excluding the Soviet zone which then formed the German Democratic Republic (including East Berlin) the same year.
From 1948 onwards, West Germany developed into a western capitalist country with a social market economy ("Soziale Marktwirtschaft" in German) and a democratic parliamentary government. Prolonged economic growth starting in the 1950s fuelled a 30-year "economic miracle" or "Wirtschaftswunder" in German. Across the inner-German border, East Germany established an authoritarian government with a Soviet-style planned economy. While East Germany became rich, at least by the standards for countries in the Eastern bloc, many of its citizens still looked to the significantly wealthier West for political freedoms and economic prosperity. The flight of growing numbers of East Germans to non-communist countries via West Berlin led to Germany erecting the inner German border (of which the Berlin Wall was a part) to prevent any further exodus.
The impetus for the creation of the Berlin Wall came from East German leader Walter Ulbricht, approved by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, but with conditions imposed. Ulbricht's proposal for a second air blockade was refused and the construction of a barrier was permitted provided that it was composed at first of barbed wire. If the Allies challenged the barrier, the East Germans were to fall back and were not to fire first under any circumstances.
Construction of 45 km around the three western sectors began early on Sunday, 13th August 1961 in East Berlin. The zonal boundary had been sealed that morning by East German troops. The barrier was built by East German troops and workers, not directly involving the Soviets. It was built slightly inside East German territory to ensure that it did not encroach on West Berlin at any point; if one stood next to the West Berlin side of the barrier (and later the Wall), one was actually standing on East Berlin soil. Some streets running alongside the barrier were torn up to make them impassable to most vehicles, and a barbed-wire fence was erected, which was later built up into the full-scale Wall.
A no man's land was created, which became widely known as the "death strip". It was paved with raked gravel, making it easy to spot footprints left by escapees; it offered no cover; it was booby-trapped with tripwires; and, most importantly, it offered a clear field of fire to the watching guards.
Ten days after closing the border, tourists from abroad, diplomats and the military personnel of the Western Powers were only allowed to enter East Berlin via the crossing point at Berlin Friedrichstrasse. Soon the US military police opened the third checkpoint at Friedrichstrasse. The other two checkpoints were Helmstedt at the West German-East German border and Dreilinden at the West Berlin and East Germany border. Based on the phonetic alphabet the Helmstedt checkpoint was called Alpha, Dreilinden Checkpoint Bravo and the checkpoint at Friedrichstrasse got the name Charlie.
The main function of the checkpoint was to register and inform members of the Western Military Forces before entering East Berlin. Foreign tourists were also informed but not checked in the West. The German authorities in West and East Berlin were not allowed to check any members of the Allied Military Forces in Berlin and in Germany.
Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin
By the end of the 1980s, the era of Communist rule in Eastern Europe was coming to an end, and the Soviet Union was disintegrating. In 1989, after weeks of discussion about a new travel law, the leader of East Berlin's communist party, Günter Schabowski, said in somewhat unclear words that the border would be opened for "private trips abroad". His comments triggered a rush of East Berliner's towards West Berlin, and there were celebrations at the Brandenburg Gate and at the Kurfürstendamm in West Berlin. Over the next few weeks, parts of the wall were chipped away by a euphoric public and by souvenir hunters; industrial equipment was later used to remove the rest of it.
Checkpoint Charlie was removed on 22nd June 1990. The former Allied guardhouses are now located in the Allied Museum. A copy of the American guardhouse was erected on the original place on 13th August 2000.
On 1st July 1990, an economic, monetary and social union between East and West Germany was formed, and all restrictions concerning travels were dropped. The wall had vanished almost completely by 1991; there are a few remainders at the Bernauer Strasse, the Niederkirchnerstrasse (near the building of the former Prussian parliament, now housing the parliament of Berlin) and as the 1.3 km long "East-Side-Gallery" near the railway station "Ostbahnhof".
Berlin Brandenburg Gate after the opening of the border between east and west
